South Kordofan: Civilians are the target of fighitng in Kadugli and Dilling

6 November 2025

Civilians in the towns of Kadulgi and Dilling in South Kordofan State are increasingly targeted by armed actors as they endure a year-long military siege, local residents told Ayin.  

Since the beginning of October, the “Ta’is” forces – an alliance comprising the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North – have intensified attacks on the two cities. Primary targets include shelters for the displaced and civilian homes, the same sources said. “The targeting of Kadugli through drones began in the beginning of October,” said one volunteer from the Kadugli Resistance Committee, requesting anonymity for security purposes. The resistance committees are volunteer-led associations set up before the war that orchestrated the demonstrations calling to end military rule in Sudan. “While the targeting initially focused on military areas, the target tragically shifted to include civilian areas.”

On October 31, a drone strike hit a camp for the internally displaced at the compound of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Kadugli, killing five children instantly. A sixth child succumbed to his injuries the following day. A member of the resistance committees added that five of the victims were from the same family. At the same time, other drones targeted the town of Al-Abbasiya Tagali, killing several displaced people who were sheltering within a secondary school, according to the same sources. 

The military escalation has induced many to try and flee Kadugli, according to another source within the Kadugli Resistance Committees. Attempts to leave Kadugli, the capital city of South Kordofan State, are fraught with challenges. For one, there is a very real chance of capture from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) or the allied Sudan People’s Liberation – North. Even worse, Kadugli is entering the rainy season, making the terrain increasingly difficult. 

Dilling

“Those seeking to leave have two main routes: either to areas controlled by the SPLM-N, or through the eastern countryside or the western Kordofan region where the Rapid Support Forces are present,” a member of the Dilling Resistance Committee told Ayin. “The choice of exit route sometimes takes on an ethnic dimension, depending on the displaced person’s affiliation,” he added. The committee member believes the RSF and SPLM-N will target Kadugli in the near future with forces both in western Kordofan and the eastern countryside in an attempt to cut off the road linking El Obeid and Dilling.

Even prior to the recent fighting, food supplies in Kadugli and Dilling have been scarce due to security restrictions, says human rights activist Jamal Koko. However, Koko noted that the ongoing shelling of Kadugli, Abbasiya, Tagali, Dilling, and Abu Jubaiha, all towns in South Kordofan State, has further tightened the situation. “Markets are still open, but lack of access has made the smuggled goods exorbitantly expensive,” Koko said. “Even more important, healthcare services are practically non-existent.” Currently, the only goods that manage to enter Kadugli and Dilling are delivered via rugged, mountainous roads – a taxing journey that invariably increases the market price, local traders said. 

The food situation has reached a critical stage, with the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report indicating that 40.2% of the population in Kadugli is suffering from acute food insecurity. UN statistics show that 63,000 children are malnourished, including 10,000 cases of the most severe form. “This is a man-made emergency, and all steps needed to prevent further catastrophe are clear,” an October IPC report stated. “Exert maximum diplomatic pressure on the parties to the conflict and their international supporters for a ceasefire and an end to the blockades—and ultimately an end to the conflict itself.” 

Control over Kadugli remains a militarily strategic aspiration for all the warring parties, as the city acts as a gateway to Darfur. For the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Khartoum, Kadugli is one of its last major strongholds in the Kordofan region. For the RSF and SPLM-N, capturing it is key to consolidating their control over the entire western half of the country.